As the front lines froze, and air defenses got better, Russia and Ukraine pivoted away from close bombing runs to standoff attacks.

The Ukrainian air force said Russia launched two Iskander-M ballistic missiles along with 37 Shahed-type strike drones and decoys at Ukraine overnight. It said 32 Shahed drones were intercepted or neutralized by Ukrainian air defenses.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin promised Russian soldiers a hero's welcome when they return from Ukraine, but the BBC has found cases of servicemen robbed and scammed for their salaries and pay-offs by government officials.

"The special military operation continues," said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, employing the term that Moscow uses for its war effort in Ukraine. Following Tuesday's attack on the prison, across the Dnipro River from Russian-occupied territory ...

Part of the agreement involves a commitment to buy American oil and gas. Over the course of the Russia-Ukraine war, now in its fourth year, most of the EU has slashed its dependence on unreliable energy supplies from Russia, but Hungary and Slovakia still have not.

DA WEI is Director of the Center for International Security and Strategy and a Professor in the Department of International Relations at Tsinghua University.

Russia’s flagship Urals crude is trading at its narrowest discount relative to benchmark prices since the Kremlin started its war against Ukraine in 2022, suggesting that fresh European sanctions have so far failed to make an impact.

Oil prices rose on Tuesday, extending the previous day's rally, on optimism that a trade war between the United States and its major trading partners was abating and as President Donald Trump ramped up pressure on Russia over its war in Ukraine.